Competence of art teachers to work with students with special needs

Comparisons of the results of pupil attainment in the national examination among students with special needs and pupils without special needs show lower results of pupils with special needs in all subjects, including the visual arts (Art education). The reasons for the discrepancy may be due to spatial, didactic and methodical, personnel, and other factors. Information about pupils' achievements in national exams can give guidance in evaluating programs and curricula and also in advising and guiding the teachers. The teacher as a key figure in the process of teaching, plays an important role in the integration of pupils with special needs in the classroom. He or she serves as an example for students as well as for other teachers. Art education in its essence represents a space where students analyse and explore the world and try to get to know it in a different way. For a student with special needs a place where the exceptionality and uniqueness are appreciated may represent a safe place to be included in the class group. This can be achieved if we know the specifics of the pupil's special needs, their shortcomings and strengths, as well as the appropriate approaches and adaptations that can be utilized to achieve the most favourable outcome. Various authors from Slovenia and from other parts of the world highlight the distress faced by the teachers when working with students with special needs, that is most commonly associated with a poorer sense of competence in working with this population. Therefore in this thesis, by studying literature about the characteristics and guidelines for working with certain subgroups of students with special needs and by analysing responses of the surveyed Art education teachers about their work with students with special needs, we will try to make Art education teachers feel more comfortable and familiar with work with pupils with special needs. The study includes 79 Art education teachers from different Slovenian regions. The sample includes both classroom teachers and subject teachers as well as secondary school teachers. For statistical analysis we used descriptive statistics, t-test and Pearson's correlation coefficient. The empirical quantitative research will provide a better insight into practical work and into the most necessary policies in the areas recommended for the work of art teachers when dealing with students with special needs